1632

Nichols' voice broke into Mike's silent test of wills with the Simpsons.

'So you're the famous brother,' the doctor murmured.

Startled, Mike's eyes left the Simpsons. 'I wasn't aware that I was famous,' he protested.

Nichols shrugged, smiling. 'Depends on the circle, I imagine. From what I can tell, listening to them gabble over the last couple of days, every one of your sister's college friends has a crush on you. You're quite a romantic figure, you know.'

Again, Mike was startled. And, again, it must have showed on his face.

'Oh, come on, Mike!' snorted Nichols. 'You're still in your mid-thirties, and look younger than that. Tall, handsome-well, handsome enough. But, most of all, you've got that glamorous history.'

'Glamorous?' choked Mike. 'Are you nuts?'

Nichols was grinning, now. 'Give me a break. You can't fool me.' He made a little sweeping gesture with his hands, indicating himself. 'What do you see here? A very prosperous-looking black man in his mid-fifties, right?' His dark eyes glinted with humor and knowledge. 'And what else? '

Mike eyed him. 'A-let's call it a history. You weren't always a proper doctor.'

'Certainly wasn't! And don't think, when I was your age, that I didn't take full advantage of it.' Nichols' wide grin changed to a gentle smile. 'You're a classic, Mike. It's that old tale which always tugs at sentiment. The reckless and dashing black sheep of the family, leaving town before the law could nail him. An adventurous lad. Soldier, longshoreman, truck driver, professional boxer. Disreputable roustabout, even if he did manage to tuck away three years in college. Then-'

The smile faded away completely. 'And then, when your father was crippled, you came back to take care of your family. And did as good a job of that as you'd done scaring them to death earlier. Quite respectable, now. Even managed to get yourself elected president of your local miners' union a couple of years back.'

Mike snorted. 'I can see Rita's been telling tales.' He started looking for his sister, ready to glare at her, when his eyes fell on the Simpsons. They were still frowning at him, so he bestowed the glare on them.

'See?' he demanded. 'My new in-laws don't seem to feel any 'romantic attraction.' Me-respectable? Ha!'

Nichols' own gaze followed Mike's. 'Well… 'Respectable' in an Appalachian sort of way. Don't think Mr. Blueblood over there is mollified that his new daughter-in-law's brother is a stone-hard union man as well as a damned hillbilly. Not hardly.'

The Simpsons were still maintaining the stare. Mike was matching it, and adding a grin to the bargain. The grin was purely feral. A sheer, brazen, unyielding challenge.

***

Nichols would remember that savage grin, in the years to come. Remember it, and be thankful.

The Ring of Fire came, and they entered a new and very savage world.

Chapter 2

The flash was almost blinding. For an instant, the room seemed filled by sunlight. The accompanying thunder rattled the windows.

Mike ducked, hunched. James Nichols' reaction was more dramatic. 'Incoming!' he yelped, flinging himself to the floor and covering his head with his arms. He seemed utterly oblivious to any possible damage to his expensive suit.

Half-dazed, Mike stared through the plate-glass windows of the cafeteria. The afterimage was still glowing in his eyes, as if the greatest lightning bolt ever heard of had just struck right next to the school. But, blurrily, he couldn't see any actual damage. The windows hadn't even been cracked. None of the multitude of cars and trucks in the parking lot seemed damaged. And if the people in the parking lot seemed like a bunch of squawking chickens, none of them seemed to have been hurt.

The men in the parking lot were mostly coal miners from his local, who had come in from all over the area for his sister's wedding. Partly, that was because the United Mine Workers of America never missed a chance to flaunt their solidarity. The UMWA sticks together. Mike thought that almost every single member of his local had shown up for the wedding, with their families in tow.

The sight of the startled men in the parking lot almost caused Mike to laugh, despite the sudden shock of that incredible-sheet lightning? What the hell did happen? The men were clustered at the back of several pickups, making precious little attempt to hide the fact that they were sneaking a drink in clear and flagrant violation of the high school's firm policy against alcoholic beverages anywhere on the premises.

A motion in the corner of his eye caught Mike's attention.

Ed Piazza was scurrying toward him, frowning like Jupiter. For a half second, Mike thought the high-school principal was about to lecture him on the unseemly behavior of the coal miners in the parking lot. He choked down another laugh.

No, he's just wondering what happened too. Waiting for Ed to reach him, Mike felt a moment's warmth for the man. Wish he'd been the principal when I was in school. Might not have gotten into so much trouble. Good-humored, Ed is.

'I know they're gonna drink in the parking lot, Mike,' Piazza had told him the day before. Snort. 'Bunch of coal miners at a wedding reception? But puh-leese keep 'em from waving the bottles under my nose. I'd feel downright stupid, all five and a half feet of me, marching out there to whack 'em with a ruler.'

Ed was at his side now. 'What happened?' The principal glanced at the ceiling. 'The lights are out too.'

Mike hadn't noticed until Ed mentioned it. It was still broad daylight, and the plate-glass windows lining the entire side of the cafeteria made the room's fluorescent lighting almost redundant.

'I don't know, Ed.' Mike set his cup of punch-unspiked; he hadn't felt he could break the rules himself-on the table nearby. Dr. Nichols was starting to rise. Mike lent him a hand.

'Lord, do I feel stupid,' muttered the doctor, brushing his clothes. Fortunately for his finery, the cafeteria floor had been mopped and waxed to a shine. 'For a moment there, I thought I was back at Khe Sanh.' He, too, asked the inevitable question. 'What the hell was that?'

The large and crowded room was now in a muted uproar, everyone asking the same thing. But there was no panic. Whatever that was, nothing immediately disastrous seemed to have occurred.

'Let's get outside,' said Mike, heading toward the cafeteria's door. 'Maybe we'll get a better idea.' He glanced around the room, looking for his sister. He spotted Rita almost at once, clutching Tom's arm. She seemed a bit alarmed, but was obviously unhurt.

By the time Mike reached the door, Frank Jackson had pushed his way through the babbling crowd. Seeing the stocky, gray-haired form of the union's secretary- treasurer, followed by five other miners from the local, Mike felt a flash of pride. UMWA. Solidarity forever.

Meeting Frank's eyes, Mike shrugged and shook his head. 'I don't know what happened either. Let's go outside and check around.'

A few seconds later, the little group of men was passing through the entrance to the high school and making their way onto the parking lot. Seeing him come, dozens of Mike's local union members started moving in his direction. Most of them even had enough self-possession to leave their drinks behind in the vehicles.

Mike's first concern was for the high school itself. His eyes ranged up and down the long row of buildings, looking for any signs of damage. But none of the beige and white structures seemed to have been harmed at all.

'Everything looks okay,' muttered Ed with heartfelt relief. The relatively new consolidated high school-built not much more than two decades ago, using a lot of voluntary labor-was the pride and joy of the rural area. For no one was that more true than its principal.

Mike looked to the west, toward Grantville. The town itself, two miles away, was hidden behind the hills which gave northern West Virginia its distinctive landscape. But Mike couldn't detect any obvious indications of trouble in that direction either.

His eyes moved to the south. The high school had been built on a gentle slope north of Buffalo Creek. At the bottom of that slope, just beyond the end of the parking lot, U.S. Route 250 ran parallel to the small river. The hills on the other side of the little valley were steep, covered with trees, and uninhabited except for a handful of trailers.

Nothing. His eyes began following the highway at the bottom of the slope, toward the large town of Fairmont some fifteen miles to the east.

Stop. There was a hint of smoke…

He pointed to the hills southeast of the school. 'Something's burning. Over there.'

Everyone followed his finger. 'Sure enough,' muttered Frank. 'C'mon, Ed. Let's call the fire brigade.' The union's secretary-treasurer and the high-school principal started moving toward the double doors leading into the school. Then, seeing the man coming through those doors, they stopped.

'Hey, Dan!' Frank pointed to the thin columns of smoke rising in the distance. 'See if you can get hold of the Volunteers. We've got trouble here!'

***

Grantville's police chief didn't waste more than two seconds staring at the smoke. Then he was hurrying toward his vehicle and its radio.

The radio wasn't working, for some reason. Nothing but static. Cursing under his breath, Dan looked up and spotted Piazza.

'You'll have to use the phones, Ed!' he shouted. 'The radio isn't working.'

'The phones aren't working either!' responded Piazza. 'I'll send someone down there in a car!'

The principal hurried back toward the school. 'And get hold of Doc Adams while you're at it!' the police chief shouted to his retreating form. 'We might need medical help!' Piazza waved his acknowledgment.

By then, Mike and Frank and several other coal miners had already started up their trucks. Dan Frost was not surprised at their instant assumption that they would be accompanying him to see what the problem was. In truth, he took it for granted.

Dan had once been offered a position in a large city's police force, at a considerably larger salary. He hadn't thought for more than three seconds before turning it down. Dan Frost had seen police work in big cities. He'd rather stay in his little town, thank you, where he could be a cop instead of an occupying army.

As he climbed into his Cherokee and started the engine, Dan checked the interior of the vehicle quickly. The shotgun was in its gun case in the back, and there was extra ammunition for his pistol in the glove compartment. Satisfied everything was in place, he leaned out of the window. Mike Stearns pulled his truck alongside. Dan was surprised to see a black man riding in the passenger seat.